Jensen has learned to stand up and boy is it trouble. He pulls himself up on everything, passers-by, chairs, pant legs boxes and THE RADIATOR! It is only hot half the time so it is hard for him to remember this is not the best object to stand up on. He will learn- eventually. Dave LOVES it when Jensen gets a nice firm grip on Dave's leg/ arm hair and twists as he pulls himself up. Jensen loves his dad:)

Our whole family lucked out when our next door neighbors moved in. I get to hang out with Mandy and have adult conversations during the day. Dave gets to play video games with Ty, and Jensen gets to play with Ivan. Ivan is two months younger so Jensen ends up unintentionally being the bully. He just likes touching his friends face so much he doesnt realize he is gouging Ivan's eyes. Ivan seems to still like Jensen despite the eye mutilation.

Jensen stuck under the laundry basket.

Final Barrand Family Photo

So for the last Barrand Family group picture we had two missionaries so we did cannibals roasting the missionaries. With the help of photo shop and moms sewing skills it turned out pretty fun. Next year mom and dad will be all alone as birds in a large empty nest. Everybody breath a sigh- for it is the end of an era. Thanks mom and dad it was fun. I don't think anybody will soon be forgetting the Barrand's Christmas pictures.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break. I feel feel so blessed. I got to spend a fantastic Christmas with our little family. Dave got me a bookcase. I was so excited I made Dave rearrange our whole apartment. And the poor man was just recovering from a whole week of being sick. I am so grateful for a patient husband who loves me enough to do that.

The day after Christmas we jumped in the car for a marathon trip to Colorado for the Barrand Christmas. We just barely squeezed in the middle of two storms that dumped over six feet of snow on Colorado.

Everybody was there except Don, who graduated from Marines training camp this week, and
Tiana, who is serving her mission in Virgina. The week was filled with gift giving and TONS of food and the "Train Game" ( Excellent game the real name is Empire Builder). We played it so much last year dad got the European version this year. A couple of times we had both games going at once. Its a fun game and the Barrands highly recommend it!

Dave and I both asked for nothing but clothes, because neither of us had actually purchased clothes since we got home from our missions almost three years ago. We got a pretty good haul, and probably won't buy clothes for another three years.

The best part of the week was going to the temple with Austin. He will be leaving on his mission at the end of January to Toronto. He got to get his endowments while we were all there. It was so special and wonderful to sit in the temple with all of the family and be reminded of the eternities.

Some of our New Years goals are-
1. Get rid of Dave's ulcer - we have to eat low fat, low spice, low taste food for it to heal:)
2. Improve Scripture Study
3. I'm going to write a Church magazine article about my sickness experience.
4. Prepare our Sunday School lesson earlier in the week
5. Pay off debt and save more
6. Make some good sales for IXG.

I just wanted to let everyone know how much I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are so blessed. I know the atonement is real and we can all be healed from any hurt or pain. I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is truly God's church. He is at the head and is always aware of us. I know I will be with my family forever. I am so thankful for those blessings.

Love you all
Danica

We went into Jensen's room this morning to find him standing up! Needless to say we will be adjusting his crib.
He was rather pleased with himself :)

CHRISTMAS LETTER!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays from the Three Stooges aka (the McDonalds).

We had a busy year. We stared the year out in Colorado doing internships and hard labor. We added a miracle baby boy to our little group. We moved back to Idaho and couldn’t be having more fun.

Curly (Dave) Dave had a lot of fun in Colorado living in the in-laws basement. He spent his time working hard for a custom closet company installing over-priced closets in over-priced homes. He worked hard but was glad to get back to school. Dave is in his Junior year studying Geology. Sediments, depositions and structures fill his time. He plans on graduating next December.

Moe (Danica) Danica got to finish her degree in finance by doing an internship for IXG, a 1031 exchange company. She had fun and learned a lot. She finished just in time too. Just two weeks after her internship Jensen was born. She is having fun staying home with Jensen, and spending a couple of hours a week selling for IXG.

Larry (Jensen) Jensen is a joy and tons of fun. He is seven months old and on the move. He crawls everywhere and chews on everything. His little heart is set aflutter by anything electronic. He keeps everyone smiling with his infectious smile and giggle.

We are incredibly blessed from Heavenly Father. We have lots of wonderful friends and family, and opportunities. We hope all is well with you!

The McDonalds

We are ready for the Semester to be done, and for Christmas to come. We are excited to be spending Christmas in Rexburg as our little family. We even have an awesome paper tree.
His hair is long enough for me to try and spike it. The picture doesn't capture the cuteness:)


Jensen has become attached to a favorite bath toy. As soon as we put him in his bath he knows it is time for his frog and he starts reaching for it. He has even started to learn to pull himself up to a semi stand- so we get him his toy to wrestle as soon as possible.

BLAM! I pity the fool who can't grow facial hair!

Now get me a glass of milk.

Happy Thanks giving! We had a great time in Utah. We got the best deal. We got to hang out with Dave's family and my family. We got to celebrate Dave's birthday with french silk pie, and all you can eat Brazilian food. Jensen is a mover and has progressed from army crawling to actually pushing up on his knees. He will get fast very soon. For now we are busy child proofing everything. Jensen LOVES electronics and will squirm all over the place to gnaw on a wire. He loves the phone most of all. Whenever I am on the phone he is trying to push as many buttons as possible, most of the time hanging up on the person on the other end. Its fun .

We got to go down to Utah this weekend and visit with both of our families. It was nice to visit, and for Jensen to play with his cousins. We visited Dave's sister MaryBeth.Little Hailey loved hugging Jensen. She will be a little princess for Halloween. She looks like ET when you see her walking from behind.

Jensen tried on a little lion outfit. His drool was the only truly threatening thing.

We also got to spend some time with my brother Bryce and his family.

Bryce and Dave both got to spend the better part of the weekend on homework. FUN!

Sam was stalking us all weekend growling and gnashing his teeth, then when he put the lion costume on he couldn't wait to get it off.

Jensen learned he has a tounge, and sticks it out all the time. He has started teething and tries to suck on everything! He has also been steady enough for Dave to balance him standing up. When this kid learns how to crawl it will be hard to keep up with him.

Fun with the bumper

This is Jensen's favorite sleeping position

It been cold enough to break out the winter clothes. The coat's a little big but its really cute- especially the fur!

My little sister, Tiana, went into the MTC this week. She is heading to the West Virgina Charlston Mission. I'm so excited for her!

Cousins- Sam and Jensen

WE MOVED!

It has been a crazy month, and we are glad it is winding down. We moved back to Rexburg Idaho for Dave to finish the last three semesters. Dave ended up driving over 4000 miles in less than a week, then packed up his camping gear and went on a geology trip for a week. I'm glad he is safely home, and preparing to start school after Labor Day.

Daddy's little boy